Abstract:Tranquility and inaction are the tenets of Taoism. Based on “Tranquility is the right way of the world” in Tao Te Jing, and “If man could always be pure and still, heaven and earth would both revert (to non-existence) ” in Qingjing Jing, this paper expounds the tranquility of Taoism and its role in self-cultivation and governing the country. Tranquility is the nature of Tao and everything in the universe, abiding by which everything can rectify itself. Tranquility is the innate tendency of things that generates the power to put them in order and make them return to their original paths. Taoists believe that the body, the country and the world are of the same origin and structure. For both self-cultivation and state governance, tranquility can give rise to insights and practical application. It has sufficient endogenous power to enable everything to maintain its nature and follow the nature, so that each develops its own advantages depending on its own environment. It can promote harmonious autonomy and self-care through spontaneous internal organization and coordination, from “governing something but not everything” to “governing everything without governing it”.
沈文华. 道家“清静”正性及其在身国并治中的作用[J]. 华中师范大学学报(人文社会科学版), 2022, 61(6): 101-108.
Shen Wenhua. The Tranquility of Taoism and Its Role in Self-Cultivation and Governing the Country. journal1, 2022, 61(6): 101-108.